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In Susan's Humble Opinion

service

Max Hutchinson was a Sydney boy, but he moved to Tasmania when he was 20, married a Burnie girl and never looked back. He fell in love in 1952, built a family and spent a lifetime supporting them and the Tasmanian community.

He spent hours under the sun as a member and Club Captain of the Burnie Surf Lifesaving Club. He was also State Surf Lifesaving Superintendent and was privileged to attend the 1956 Olympics as part of the demonstration team. Later in life, his passion for surf Lifesaving was taken up by several of his grandchildren.

When the family moved to Strahan, Max threw himself into community life of the small town. He was a stringer for the ABC, a Scout master, Captain of the Rural Fire Service and a member of the Strahan Marine Board.

After seeing how painful unamicable divorces can be for children, Max and his wife Beth, helped establish Roland Children’s Services to create contact centres for families going through separations. These centres provided safe places for children and their families to meet while going through problematic separations.

Its possible Max is most widely known for his work with Rotary and the Burnie Agricultural and Pastoral Society. He joined Rotary in 1971, becoming President of the Rotary Club of East Burnie from 1981-1982. He was Assistant District Governor from 1999-2000 and was awarded a Paul Harris fellow. Max has variously been Treasurer, President, Life Member and Patron of the show society since 1971.

Max was a man of faith and contributed to his church community too. He was a regular congregant at, St George’s, the Anglican church in which he was married. During the 1990’s he was a member of the Anglican Church in Tasmania’s Diocesan Council and Treasurer.

In 2008 he was awarded the OAM for services to Burnie through social-welfare, agricultural, service and business organisations.

He led an incredibly fulsome life, packed with adventure and laughter. He travelled around Australia and visited the UK, Europe, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Mexico and the USA. There wasn’t much he didn’t have a go at. He even went bungee jumping when he was in his 60’s.

Max died from complications from metastatic skin cancer, a reminder of the impact of cumulative exposure to harmful UV rays. His funeral will be held on Thursday 19th March at 2pm at Vincent’s Parklands Chapel, 113 Bass Highway. It will also be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend.

Family violence happens to everybody. No matter how nice your house is, how intelligent you are. It can happen to anyone, and everyone.

She has tirelessly campaigned for greater awareness, and institutional responses to domestic violence. I’m certain I am not the only one who cries when she speaks about the issues; she has a profound voice. Now she is being recognised for her herculean efforts. I haven’t been this proud of our national awardees since Patrick McGorry was awarded the honour for his work on mental health.

Rosie, Jackie, Drisana and Juliette remind us of the many ways in which women contribute to our nation — that women are a force for change, a voice for rights, influencers, educators and the heart of our communities.

It brings me great hope and joy that these four women have been recognised for their contribution to Australian society; their contribution and their leadership. Jackie French was awarded Senior Australian of the Year for her services to literacy; Drisana Levitzke-Gray was awarded Young Australian of the Year for campaigning for the rights of deaf people; and Juliette Wright was awarded Australia’s Local Hero for establishing a website that facilitates community members donating quality items to those in need, especially after a disaster.

Last year, the Prime Minister made the decision to revive part of the imperial honour system, appointing dames and knights, titles traditionally awarded for service to Queen and country. The first two awardees were the outgoing and incoming Governors General. Today he made an interesting announcement; awarding one of these knighthoods to none other than the Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband. There has been a great deal of discussion about the decision. Some people have protested based on personal attributes of the Prince, others have protested because he isn’t Australian. Today I read a very valid gender analysis of the decision. But I cannot think of a more bizarre choice merely on grounds of process. Giving Prince Philip an Australian knighthood seems to me to be a bit like choosing the principle as the pupil of the week, or perhaps the principle’s husband. It just doesn’t compute.

I was however heartened to read the list of OAM recipients from Far North Queensland recognised for their service to the indigenous community. The Medal of the Order of Australia is the category we see most people who have served the community, those who are recognised for voluntary service; not military service, or public service for which they have been otherwise recompensed, but the kind of service that truly comes from the heart, and gives in the best way possible. It is for this reason I love to see who has been awarded the OAM in communities around the nation. We hear so many dire stories from indigenous communities and so rarely hear of positive achievements, so it was especially good to hear indigenous people recognised for their service the community.